The Atma Jyoti Blog

Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh was one of the most renowned spiritual leaders in 20th century India. Founder of Sivanandashram and the Divine Life Society, he was and is an inspiration to multitudes of meditators of east and west through his numerous publications. This article is a selection from his book Dhyana Yoga Sutras.

Dharana

1. Dharana is concentration.
2. It is fixing the mind on an external object or an internal point or an idea.
3. Concentration is fixing the mind; meditation is allowing one idea to flow continuously.
4. Be serene. Be cheerful. Be patient. Be regular in your practice. Observe celibacy. Reduce your wants and activities. Mix little. Observe mauna. These are aids to concentration.
5. Concentrate on trikuti [between the eyebrows] or heart [chakra].

Dhyana

1. Dhyana is meditation.
2. When you practise concentration, meditation and samadhi at a time, it is called samyama.
3. Meditation is the key to unlock the door of moksha.
4. Meditation bestows intuitive knowledge and eternal bliss.
5. Cultivate burning dispassion, burning aspiration or longing for God-realization. You will have wonderful meditation.
6. Shun siddhis or psychic powers. They are obstacles in the path of yoga.
7. Too much sleep, lack of brahmacharya, laziness, rising up of latent desires, company of worldly people, overwork, overeating are all obstacles in meditation.
8. Meditate on the form of the Lord. This is concrete meditation.
9. Meditate on His attributes. This is abstract meditation.

Meditation

1. Dharana or concentration matures in due course into dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (superconscious state).
2. Meditation is prolonged concentration. The process of meditation is like the pouring of oil from one vessel into another in a steady unbroken stream.
3. Meditation is an effort in the beginning. Later on it becomes habitual and gives bliss, joy and peace.
4. Only when you have practised preliminary stages of sadhana such as yama, niyama, will you obtain the full benefit of meditation.
5. In the one-pointed state, there cannot be more than one idea. One idea can go only if another idea enters the mind.
6. However intellectual you may be, you cannot concentrate without the help of some image or symbol in the beginning.
7. Success in meditation is quick in those whose practice and meditation are intense.
8. Meditation is a positive, vital, dynamic process. It transforms man into divinity.
9. Through regular meditation you can build an impregnable and invulnerable fortress. Maya cannot assail you.
10. Meditation is the key to intuition.
11. Meditation is the key to unfold the divinity or atman, hidden in all names and forms.
12. Meditation is the key to spiritual illumination.
13. Meditation is the only passport to the satisfaction of life.
14. Meditation is an antidote to death.
15. Meditation is a vital part of daily living. Therefore meditate, meditate daily.
16. Even a little meditation daily will raise you a little higher and a little nearer to God.
17. The mind is refined by devotion and meditation.
18. As gold purified in a crucible shines bright, so constant meditation on the atman makes the mind pure and effulgent with spiritual lustre.
19. A purified mind can grasp anything. It can dive deep into the subtlest subject, and understand even transcendental things.
20. Meditation releases a great amount of spiritual power. By constant meditation on the self, one attains liberation.
21. Meditate upon purity and other similar qualities associated with purity–qualities like simplicity, guilelessness, frankness, truthfulness, open-heartedness, innocence, goodness, etc.
22. Attune yourself with the Infinite by stilling the mind, by silencing the thoughts and emotions.
23. Mind is the biggest radio. It is the receiving set. Attune it with the Infinite. Enjoy the supreme bliss of the Supreme Soul.
24. Meditate. Root yourself in Divinity.
25. Shut down in meditation the conscious mind–that part of your mind which thinks of the external world, your body and its wants.
26. Meditation on Brahman is the highest form of religion.
27. You can realise Brahman when you have stillness or serenity of mind.
28. O Ram, meditate regularly in the early hours of the morning. Let the mind taste the bliss of the self.
29. The meditative mood comes and goes. Restrain the senses. Be eternally vigilant.
30. Be regular in your meditation and become more positive.
31. Sit for meditation at fixed hours. Brahmamuhurta, noon, evening, (dusk, twilight) and night.
32. Your life and your meditation must become one.
33. In deep meditation there is the first divine thrill in the heart with joy and bliss.
34. When you enter into deep meditation, you will realise balance, composure, serenity, peace of mind, steadiness, fearlessness, highest dispassion.
35. Inner spiritual strength, perfect peace, knowledge and bliss are the fruits of meditation.
36. Meditate regularly. You will attain the goal, God-Realisation.
37. Meditate. Have a glimpse of That. All dualities, all sorrows, all pains will vanish in toto.

Further Reading:

• Meditation on Om, by Swami Sivananda
• A Brief life of Swami Sivananda
• Swami Sivananda on Psychic Powers